LRAC votes to welcome partners of all faiths

After 17 years of discussion, representatives from the 11 member churches of the Lewes Rehoboth Association of Churches voted 12-1, with two abstentions, Jan. 10 to change the organization’s name and welcome congregations of all faiths.

The vote came after a board recommendation to expand the organization’s membership to include faith communities other than Christian churches. Now, all congregations in the Cape Henlopen School District may join LRAC, which stands for Lewes Rehoboth Association of Congregations.

“It boils down to a commitment to Christ and what it means in real life,” said the Rev. Dr. Bo Gordy-Stith, Epworth United Methodist Church pastor of community and communications, and LRAC board of directors president. “Something fundamental definitely changed, and I’m glad to see it.”

Discussions about expanding from an ecumenical Christian-based organization to an interfaith organization resurfaced about a year ago when changes were made to streamline the organization, Gordy-Stith said, which included moving from three voting member representatives per church to two.

The member representative who voted against expanding the membership resigned from LRAC, he said, and Father Brian Lewis of St. Jude the Apostle Roman Catholic parish and Father William Cocco of St. Edmond Roman Catholic parish emailed him Jan. 11 to announce their disaffiliation from LRAC.

In a provided statement, Lewis said LRAC’s press release announcing the vote implies and leads readers to infer that St. Edmond and St. Jude Catholic Churches do not support including non-Christian congregations in LRAC. 

“The contrary is actually true, as our vote in favor of this is on record with LRAC’s meeting on Nov. 29, 2022,” Lewis’s statement said.

In November, Gordy-Stith said, the board voted to recommend to the member representatives that LRAC change its bylaws to become an interfaith association.

“Furthermore,” the statement continues, “what LRAC’s press release fails to communicate is that several proposals were up for a single simultaneous vote on Jan. 10, among them changing the original mission statement by excising the Name of Jesus and the living out of His command to love.”  

The name of Jesus is elemental to every Christian denomination, Lewis stated.

“Its intentional removal and misperception as a barrier to interfaith collaboration are tantamount to a denial of our Christian identity in the public sphere,” he continued. “It is this and only this proposed renunciation of Jesus Christ and our Christian identity to which St. Edmond and St. Jude the Apostle Churches take exception and which motivates our decision to disaffiliate from LRAC.”

In conclusion, Lewis stated he wishes LRAC the best and prays their good works in helping the poor and homeless will continue.

“We encourage the readership of the Cape Gazette to support the New Life Thrift Store, as its endeavors contribute greatly to assisting those in need,” the statement read.

Bylaws amendments that were recommended by the board in November, according to documentation provided by Gordy-Stith, include deleting text stating that LRAC is an ecumenical Christian organization, “composed of people of faith that have come together for the purpose of living out the call of Jesus to ‘love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength,’ and to ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” The bylaws amendments also recommended deleting the phrase referring to affirming the theological basis of the World Council of Churches.

Proposed amendments include adding that LRAC is an “interfaith organization, composed of people of faith who have come together to love God and neighbor” that is open to all congregations in the Cape Henlopen School District “who share a passion to live out their faith in God by caring for our neighbors in need.” 

LRAC history

Established in 1983, LRAC has historically been a Christian-only organization, formed to collectively address community needs through outreach and promote understanding among member churches. 

Non-Christians had volunteered in LRAC’s various programs, including the Community Resource Center and New Life Thrift Shop, but had no governing role within the association. 

LRAC representatives also considered expanding into an interfaith organization in May 2018, when then-pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Rehoboth Beach, the Rev. Elder Diane Fisher, suggested that LRAC become an interfaith organization by welcoming Jewish, Unitarian and Unity congregations.

At the time, members voted 23-14 to remain a Christian-only organization. 

In a Jan. 12 email, Fisher said she congratulated LRAC for the courageous move.

“I am thrilled that LRAC finally found their way to becoming an inclusive and diverse interfaith community,” she said. “It represents the demographics of Lewes and Rehoboth, and is a positive move toward the future of the larger community.”  

MCC Rehoboth and LRAC have been working toward this vision for  a number of years, Fisher said, 

“MCC Rehoboth’s new settled pastor, the Rev. Janice Bowker, is excited about the possibilities this will open up for the MCC Rehoboth congregation,” Fisher said. 

In 2006, LRAC member representatives rejected a proposal to include non-Christian faith groups, stating that official worship services coordinated by LRAC will reflect the theological basis of the World Council of Churches.

Gordy-Stith said that welcoming ministry partners of different faiths flows naturally from following Jesus’ way of expanding followers’ comprehension of the boundaries of God’s love.

“Throughout this months-long conversation about inclusion, we were guided and goaded by Jesus, who taught ‘Whoever is not against us is for us’ and ‘I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold,’” he said. 

The LRAC board will be able to recommend new members to the LRAC member representatives, who would vote to approve or disapprove the new members. 

Gordy-Stith said he expects the memberships of Seaside Jewish Community and Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware to be formalized at LRAC’s February meeting. 

Members of both congregations have attended LRAC meetings in the past as observers, Gordy-Stith said.

The Rev. Heather Rion Starr, minister of Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware, said her congregation has taken part in LRAC’s Thanksgiving services and other activities.

Rion Starr said she welcomed LRAC’s decision to be inclusive, contemporary and collaborative.

“This is great news, and it’s long overdue, especially in this area,” she said.

Much bigger issues affect Sussex Countians, who would benefit more from the collaboration than from religious quibbling, she said.

“I’m very excited about the new direction,” Rion Starr said. “It feels like a natural development and gives us more ways to work together and be in concert, which is something we all need in this world.”